


The Darkness Inside

by ShadeReilly34



Category: Care Bears
Genre: F/M, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, post movie events
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-09
Updated: 2018-11-09
Packaged: 2019-08-21 03:35:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16568873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadeReilly34/pseuds/ShadeReilly34
Summary: "―…Darkness? We all have it, Dark Heart. That is what makes us human, to have both light and darkness inside of us. And what we care about our loved ones is what makes us stand on the side of light". One-shot. Dark Heart/Christy.





	The Darkness Inside

**Author's Note:**

> Shade: Well, here I am doing something that I never thought I would do: A Care Bears fanfiction. (It just happened, is not my fault..., curse you, Nostalgia Critic and your review of Care Bears! XD)

_"You find my dark word. Darkness is in our souls, don't you think?"_

**James Joyce,**   _Ulysses._

He observed his hands for the eleventh time that afternoon. As much as he tried, he couldn't materialize in his true form that he had ever had ... He always remained the same; and apparently it would always be like this. Human. Mortal.  _Weak._

He looked at the sky once more. This time the soft orange blur of the horizon had been replaced by a velvety dark blue like a petal of  _forget-me-nots_. In the distance you could hear distant enigmatic sounds from the invisible beings that lived deep in the trees that surrounded him. Soon, the black would be present and would dye the entire celestial pantheon of darkness. Darkness that had  _once_ inhabited his heart.

Everything was silent and any sound around him felt empowered by ten. Even the screaming of a cricket echoed up to him. Even so, it seemed to him relaxing. He never would have thought it would be, when centuries before and until recently, the  _best music_  for his ears was the sound of hatred, disdain,  _uncaring_.

He had to admit, he was afraid. Certainly, he had been happy to know that he was completely human, that he could now jump, run, cartwheels (Well,  _almost_ ), but what had impressed him  _more_  than anything else: He could  _feel_. And to feel was by far the thing that terrified him most of all, because it practically  _made_  him exactly what he had  _hated_  the most in all his indefinite existence and what he had sworn to  _destroy_ … And that was what scared him at that moment: In having those thoughts of doubt, of fear, of disbelief at what had happened to him, when he should be overflowing with infinite happiness at this moment.

Please don´t misunderstand, Dark Heart was happy. He was happy there, surrounded by cheerful people, surrounded by friends who loved him despite everything he had  _done_ , like John and Dawn. The fact that Christy was  _with_  him, alive and as cheerful as she was when he met her.

Still, why did he feel that way?

Why couldn't he be  _entirely_  happy that he had lost his abilities with which he had always been for as long as he could remember? It's not that Dark Heart  _really_  wanted to go back to be the  _master of the darkness_  that he once was, but…  _Still_ , it was a weird feeling to be without them, it was kind of like of  _abandonment_.

Why did he feel so  _bad_  about all the bad things he had done? Certainly, Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins, and especially, True Heart and Noble Heart had forgiven him for his actions, but…  _Still_ , he couldn´t help but think about that, to be  _horrified_  at what he had done… In how he was close to having lost her forever because he was blinded in his arrogance and thirst for destruction… He admitted it, he had  _never_  felt so much  _fear_  in all his existence until  _that_  moment when he saw her... Sometimes he tormented himself wondering how Christy had forgiven him, when he really didn´t  _deserve_  it.

And above  _all_ , why could he still...?

"I'm here!" He got up from the dry tree trunk where he had been lying when he heard Christy's familiar voice emerging from the trees. She was carrying a huge plastic bag full of those soft white things with a sweetish taste ("' _Marshmallows', they call them,"_ he recalled). "I'm sorry to take so much. Did you wait a lot?

"Not much really, don´t worry"he murmured, making space on the fallen log so she could sit down next to him. He watched her open the package of marshmallows while warming herself in the heat of the campfire. He stared abstractedly at the orange flames rising in form of sparks to the sky already studded with stars, so lost in his thoughts that he didn´t almost notice the girl's hand on his shoulder.

"Here, remember not to bring it closer to the flames or it will burn," Christy said as she handed him a twig already skewered with the marshmallow. "are you okay?"

"Yes, it's just…" He looked at the flames once more and then he looked at her: "Christy, why did you forgive me?"

"Eh?"

"Seriously,  _why_  did you do it? Even with everything I did to you and the Care Bears, you and they forgave me. Why, if I was so mean and vile to you? I didn't deserve such a thing, and it would have happened something as  _irremediable_  as it was to see you on the floor with that crimson glow, lifeless... I ne-never would have forgiven me for that, I..." He was starting to stammer (The former  _Lord of the Darkness,_  stammering?  _Before_ , he would have wanted to  _die_  of  _shame_  for that), damn it, he wanted to get rid of all that feeling that was pressing on his chest at that moment… Then, he felt arms around him and a head resting gently on his shoulder.

"Because I knew that, deep down, you were a person, and you didn't want to do that," Christy muttered, also looking at the flames of the campfire, trying to guess shapes with it. "And because you really  _cared_  for me, I could  _feel you_  at that moment. I could  _hear you_  at that moment."

"But…"

"I understand that you feel guilty about that, it's  _normal_  for people to think that way. What is important to do then is to try to do things well, to  _remedy_  them. And that  _starts_  with forgiveness."

He said nothing. He just contemplated her.

"You've really done a good job of  _being_  good, I've seen you doing it, Dark Heart. The other children in the camp love you and respect you, John and Dawn love you too. I…," The reddish glow of the fire managed to  _mask_  her blush… although  _not_  from him, "and me-me too."

Dark Heart was speechless while an intense heat that  _wasn't_  from the fire lit his cheeks.

"So… why do I still  _feel_  these things...?," Dark Heart asked looking at his hands once more. "Could it be that I still  _have_...?"

"…Darkness? We  _all_  have it, Dark Heart," Christy said, looking at him and composing a soft smile at the disbelief of the former evil entity that was now her friend. " _That_  is what  _makes_  us human, to have both  _light_ and _darkness_  inside of us. And what we care about our loved ones is  _what_  makes us  _stand_  on the side of light."

"I get it. It's more complicated than I thought."

"Don't worry, it's normal. And everything will be fine, as long as you care about the others. You are not alone, there are the Care Bears and the children with you," She closed her eyes and leaned more against his shoulder. "I will always be here with you."

"…And I will be here too for you, Christy, even if…" And to the girl's amazement, her cheek was no longer feeling the fabric of the track suit that he usually wore, but…  _animal_   _fur_. She opened her eyes and sat up: Beside her, still holding the twig with the now burned marshmallow,  _was_  a gigantic red bear. Christy was speechless for a moment, trying to assimilate what she saw:  _No…_  it  _couldn't_ be. True Heart had said that he had lost his powers by  _sacrificing_  them for her. Then, why…? "... I didn't understand why I can still shapeshifting. Thanks to you I know now: By the same  _darkness_ that still exists in me" the red bear said bowing his huge head to look at her. "but as you  _also_  said, the fact that I still care about my loved ones makes me not want to use it for evil, at least not anymore, I guess.

The girl nodded while looking at the huge eyes of the beast: They  _were_  blue,  _not_  red…  _That_  was what calmed her  _more_  than anything else: It  _was_  him, it was Dark Heart. The Dark Heart that  _was_ now. He looked at her expectantly, as if he feared that she was going back or reproaching him for this  _retreat_  of his now renewed nature… But instead, Christy embraced his long neck unexpectedly, making him back from amazement, to the point of lying on his back, with her on top of him, hugging him like a teddy bear.

"I believe you" she said, still hugging him by the furry neck and still smiling."And that's fine with that, because I'll always be with you, even if you can become a terrifying dragon or a snake". She hugged him harder, "I love you, Dark Heart."

She felt the bear move gently beneath her, as if he was going to do something… Until she felt his big claws settle on her small back, surrounding her completely, wrapping her in a warm furry cocoon. She smiled even more, sinking her face into the furry skin of his chest, feeling that powerful heart beating under her ear. She knew that it was his way of saying:  _"Me too."_

They stayed that way, enjoying the heat of the other and the fire, while, in the middle of the open sky, the Great Wishing Star watched them with a broad smile.


End file.
